Pawprints in the Snow
by AuthorSwimmerPoet
Summary: My idea of how Toboe might have met that owner that he was always so fond of. Hopefully a sweet little one shot. *I don't own the characters of Wolf's Rain.


**I always thought it was adorable how Toboe talked about his owner, so I couldn't resist playing with the idea of how she might have found him. Enjoy :)**

* * *

><p>The snow crunched beneath the old woman's feet, the only sound as she stepped outside of the city. She felt a slight shiver run through her as the wind picked up briefly, but she continued onwards because it dropped away to nothing almost as quickly. Unless it became a bitter and driving wind she wasn't going to turn back. She needed her little walk each day. It felt good to move her old bones about.<p>

She settled into the rhythm of her walk, a quiet shuffle with her hand brushing along the wall so that she wouldn't lose her way. It would do no good for her to become lost if a great and unexpected storm were to arise, but still she preferred to walk outside the city. She liked the peace and quiet, the separation from the city that only seemed full of cruel and angry people.

After several minutes filled only with the gentle whisper of noise she created, she paused. Though her ears were growing weak she thought she had heard the sound beyond her quiet footsteps, a soft sound, but one full of pain and desperation.

The old woman looked around puzzled, trying to detect the source of the noise. She squinted her eyes against the whiteness of the snow, unless her eyes were finally going the way her ears had been, there seemed to be a small brown something in the snow just before her, which didn't look as if it belonged in this deserted wasteland. Not that anything really looked as if it belonged within a frozen tundra.

Shuffling as quickly as her aged joints were capable of doing, she approached the object. Even at her age, it didn't take very long.

"Oh what a lovely little puppy," the old woman cooed, looking down at the shivering bundle of fur, lying practically at her feet. She hadn't expected to find such a wretched creature lying in the snow. She also hadn't expected her sudden wish to keep it. She wasn't much of one to raise animals, or even to particularly enjoy animals, but the pitiful creature at her feet caused an instant change of heart. It was so young; she couldn't bear the thought of leaving it in this place where it had already been abandoned once. Besides it would be nice to have company. Even if she hated the way people acted, she couldn't deny that she was lonely. Old and lonely. A pet would be just the thing to ease the loneliness. It couldn't talk to her, so she needn't worry about pointless conversation, nor could it act like a human in most any other way, and for that, she knew it was worth keeping. Company that wasn't a human, a way to cure her loneliness without submitting herself to the worthless humanity of the city, yes, the idea was very agreeable to her. Very agreeable indeed.

She stooped, her body creaking. She stroked the poor animal's fur. It was stiff and frozen because of the snow it had been lying in and the light flurries that were now being swept around by the wind, as it began to faintly gain strength again.

It quivered and looked up at her, barely able to raise its head. The woman could faintly make out a high whimper coming from its small throat. The sound seemed even more quiet than the noise that had drawn her attention in the first place. She imagined that without her intervention the poor thing wouldn't last much longer out in this terrible snow. Yet another reason to justify keeping the pup in her home, this frozen wasteland was no place for a lost and helpless mutt.

Gently the old woman scooped the pup into her hands, he was so young, hardly more than a few weeks old; he fit easily into her palms. "Hush, dear one." She whispered. "I'll watch out for you now."

She cradled the ball of fur close to her chest and began the long shuffling walk back into the city, back to her home. She stroked the creature's wet fur, trying to help it maintain some semblance of life. "Don't die on me." She commanded the pup. "Don't die on me and I'll provide you with a nice comfortable home and company, wonderful company that you never would have gotten out here." She was aware that she was beginning to ramble, but it was hardly something to care about, at her age it was perfectly acceptable to ramble, no one was going to stop her in any case.

The puppy continued to whine softly as she stroked warmth back into it. She didn't understand why a mother dog would have so carelessly abandon its pup, and in so merciless a place. She contemplated this almost absently as she made her trudging journey back towards home.


End file.
